The present disclosure relates to a capping device for an ink jet printer.
Thermal ink jet printers are commonly used to print on stationary substrates such as paper, as well as objects that may move past the print head such as cartons, boxes, and other types of primary and secondary packaging. A common problem with thermal ink jet printers is that when the print head is not being used, inks tend to dry out and clog the nozzles of the print head. A common approach to prevent this nozzle clogging has been to use some sort of capping device to seal the area around the nozzles. Prior devices frequently use a non-contact, molded or machined pocket over the nozzle orifices. In these designs, the pocket around the nozzle orifices needs to remain saturated with fluid to remain non-drying, and any deviation from planarity between the cap and the pocket allows air into the pocket which causes drying of the fluid and loss of print capability. Other prior devices, particularly those used for desktop printers, require the print head to be moved to a maintenance station when not printing. This requires additional components to move the print head and slows the process of capping and decapping.